RockHounds' Miles Head making adjustments to Double A

Published 2:30 pm, Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Miles Head gets a hit and heads to first Saturday during the RockHounds game against the Arkansas Travelers at Citibank Ballpark. Cindeka Nealy/Reporter-Telegram

Miles Head gets a hit and heads to first Saturday during the RockHounds game against the Arkansas Travelers at Citibank Ballpark. Cindeka Nealy/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: Cindeka Nealy

RockHounds' Miles Head making adjustments to Double A

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Miles Head hit the ground swinging upon his arrival in the Oakland Athletics minor league system.

After spending his first three minor league seasons within the Boston Red Sox organization, Head was given a change of scenery as he was included in a trade that netted the A's major league outfielder Josh Reddick in exchange for closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.

And while Reddick is considered the major piece for the A's in that deal, Head has been proving he's more than just a consolation prize.

In his first year with the A's organization, Head spent the first half of it lighting up scoreboards in the California League with the Single-A Stockton Ports. In just 67 games with the Ports, Head batted .382 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI. He had an on-base percentage of .433 and a slugging percentage of .715. But perhaps his most impressive accomplishment this season in Stockton was picking up at least one hit in the first 19 games of the season.

"I just tried to stay consistent with my approach," Head said of his offensive outbreak in Stockton. "I was just trying to hit line-drives up the middle and if they happen to go out, they go out. I just have to stay within myself and not try to do too much."

With stats like that, he wasn't long for Stockton, and the 21-year-old third baseman was promoted to the Midland RockHounds on June 21 shortly after playing in the California-Carolina League All-Star Game.

But there's some major differences from playing in Stockton compared to playing in Midland. For starters, Head is having to adjust to a more consistent brand of pitching that has held him to a .262 average in 16 games with the RockHounds with one homer and seven RBI.

"I'm having to make a little bit of adjustments with the pitching, but I'm catching on," Head said. "It's consistency mainly from pitchers. I'm not seeing a whole lot better stuff, but I would say I'm seeing more consistent stuff with guys staying around the strike zone more."

Then there's Citibank Ballpark, which has never been confused for a great hitter's park. Of course, but neither is Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum where the Athletics play their home games -- a place Head has aspirations of playing in the near future.

"(Citibank) is no so fun to hit in," Head said with a smile. "But I can't concentrate on that. I have to stay within myself and keep doing what I've been doing all year and stay consistent. The wind is always blowing in and the field is huge, but hey, I'm going to have to play in a place like this someday."

Despite the new string of challenges that make hitting at the Double-A level more of a challenge, Head is still displaying the line-drive power that led to his success in Stockton. That power paid dividends for the RockHounds on Saturday.

Head stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Arkansas Travelers with the game tied 2-2 and his teammate Conner Crumbliss on first base with two outs. Head drilled a pitch from Arkansas reliever Andrew Taylor to the wall in right-center field for a double, allowing Crumbliss to score what turned out to be the game-winning run.

But it wasn't just his bat doing the talking during this most recent six-game homestand at Citibank. Head also made some impressive plays in the field with his glove, including a diving stop of a sharp ground ball that turned into a double play in the seventh inning of Saturday's win against Arkansas.

Considering the bases were loaded with one out and the score tied when Head made that play, it's safe to say the final outcome of the game would have been different had he not gone all out to keep the ball in the infield.

Not bad for a guy who spent his first three years in the minors playing first base, and hadn't played third since he was a senior in high school.

"I was a little shaky because I haven't really played there much since high school. I was with the Red Sox for three years and I was playing first the whole time," Head admitted. "I practiced this all season and have worked pretty hard at it. I feel like I've gotten the hang of it. I don't really prefer anything, as long as I'm in the lineup hitting I don't care where they put me."

Change is what Head got when he joined the A's organization, and when he got the promotion from Stockton to Midland. But, the RockHounds burgeoning third baseman has learned that change can be good.

"I'm loving it," Head said. "It's a little different change of scenery, this is the first time I've really been in Texas. But as far as a baseball standpoint, I'm loving it."